In TrainingPeaks it is important to have accurate functional threshold values so that your training stress and fitness can be tracked. You can find out more about the importance of…
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The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, female-male, dark-light and old-young. The principle, dating from the 3rd century BCE or even earlier, is a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy and culture in general.
In training we break our bodies down, we intentionally create physical and mental stress. In recovery the evolutionary process takes over and your body and mind super compensate and adapt, getting stronger. All you need to do is give it a little window of time and the raw material of nutrients.
Most athletes have a strong focus on getting the formula of training right, aerobic training, high intensity, strength, durability, even weigh management. Few really focus on recovery which is where the magic happens.
Good recovery discipline ensures you convert your investment and effort into benefits. I see the as the third most common mistake made by novice athletes behind 1.) not enough easy miles, and 2.) high intensity sessions not being hard enough.
My top 5 recovery tips:
- Sleep 7.5 hour per night average, more if high volume. If training above 15 hours the 8 hours +. If 25 hours per week then 10 hours sleep, maybe a midday nap. Sleep is when the vast majority of recovery and strengthening happens, invest in it!
- Recovery nutrition. Replace calories and provide your body with the nutrients it needs to recover and rebuild. Vitamins, minerals, protein, natural carbs, health fats. Keep it diverse, there is not silver bullet recovery solution. Broad spectrum nutrient through real food is best.
- Adequate time between sessions. Every session has an objective, a targeted adaptation. If you are too tired to achieve the objective, not up to the challenge due to inadequate recovery, walk away, catch-up on recovery, and turn up to the next session fully charged. For endurance athletes we do however, purposely do endurance sessions with a level of fatigue to promote durability.
- Avoid inflammatory foods. Training creates inflammation and much of recovery is reducing inflammation. Don’t further challenge the immunity system by eating foods that create inflammation. These include processed sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined grains. Stick to real food, out the ground, off a plant, or of an animal. My experience for myself and coached athletes who have adopted this is that this has made the most significant difference in performance per training hour.
- Warm down. Any sessions above zone 2 need a warm down to flush out waste from the muscles. Lactic acid left in the muscle with delay recovery until is clears. This can take hours without adequate warm down.
This one is for those riding to power, specifically racing to power. The secret is to focus on the process, not the outcome. To do this we need the numbers for the moment we are in, our physiological inputs and outputs.
Many set-up their Garmin to show speed, distance and time, metrics that re-enforce outcome targets, not process.
With power and heart rate metrics we have the capability to focus on process.
My recommended setup is to show 4 metrics on the main screen, and optionally some others on a second screen.
The primary screen I show Power 3 second average, Intensity Factor, Heart Rate and Cadence.
Power – 3 second average: The power reading jumps up and down and is hard to monitor, to judge intensity I prefer to monitor Intensity Factor. The power is useful, however, to monitor power cap and minimums. The power lets me know if I am pushing too hard on a climb and into headwind or too soft heading down wind and down a gradient. In an IRAONMAN my cap is 230 maximum and a minimum of 130 watts, I keep within these unless the hill is extreme.
Intensity Factor: The IF shows the average intensity factor over the course of the ride. My target over an IRONMAN is 0.72, in a 70.3 it is 0.85. This is individual, however the general range to allow for a good run is in a range of 0.70 to 0.75 where 0.70 for a 6 hour ride and 0.75 for a 5:10 ride. The IF allows me to adjust intensity without constantly monitoring power, and adjusting to periods of over power (early hills) and under investment (tail winds).
Heart Rate: Heart rate is the input which should also be monitored. Generally I ride to power (IF and Power 3s) but I monitor Heart Rate which will react to other stresses like heat, humidity, GI issues or unforeseen illness. Essentially if the HR shoots up well above aerobic for IRONMAN, or into Zone 4 for 70.3, I slow down regardless of power.
Cadence: Cadence is good to monitor as it can be an early indicator of fatigue. If it drops unexpectedly then it may be an indication you need to fuel up or back off.
On my second screen, just in case I get inquisitive, I have distance, time and Normalised Power. I rarely look at these.
What I don’t have displayed or available anywhere is Speed. Speed is the outcome of power, gravity and headwind. Not worth monitoring as it could make you invest effort badly. For example at IRONMAN New Zealand last year I averaged 40 km per hour for the 15 km section heading out of Taupo. Had I seen the speed I would have doubted myself and backed off. The section was slightly downhill and had a tailwind. I recall having to concentrate to keep my power up to 140 watt, 15 watts below my NP target,
because it felt fast. Speed is irrelevant, inputs and outputs are what counts.
Episode 10 is now live – I was blessed to be able to have legendary endurance coach Paul Skelton on the show. With years of experience as both a coach and an athlete Paul shares a tremendous amount of his wisdom throughout the show.
Tune in here: https://anchor.fm/easythrills
As a coach I generally see three categories of athletes, coaches can pick these and tailor coaching, athletes would benefit from acknowledging where they sit.
- Training driven
- Race driven
- Outcome driven
Yes there are others in between. Here are some points to get the best results as a coach and athlete.
Training Driven.
Traits
- Never misses a session
- Does exactly what the program says in time or distance
- Trades sleep and family time for training time
- Trains at small intensity bandwidth, reduces high intensity, increases low intensity
- Rarely race to potential, the race becomes another training day.
- Nutrition is fuel for training, minimal focus on nutrients and recovery.
- Skips balance, timing and technique training components.
Risks
- Can easily over-train or under-train
- Misses opportunity of physical adaptations acquired outside of race pace including aerobic development and force/power development
- Minimises adaptations due to training fatigued or not reaching true overload needed for optimal adaptation
- High risk of injury and fatigue related illness
- Races safe, does not race to potential
Race Driven.
Traits
- Tends to skip sessions that are not “Race Like” or challenging.
- Not willing to do the necessary “boring” miles.
- Looks for performance improvements every sessions.
- Trains at small intensity bandwidth, increases high intensity, reduces low intensity
- Nutrition is fuel for going fast, minimal focus on nutrients and recovery.
- Skips balance, timing and technique training components.
Risks
- Can easily over-train at high intensity
- Misses opportunity of physical adaptations acquired outside of race pace, specifically aerobic development
- Minimises adaptation my not reaching true overload in base / aerobic volume needed for optimal endurance performance.
- Races hard with the fitness they bring to the start line, but low on control, tends to “blow up”.
Outcome Driven.
Traits
- Focuses on adaptations required for increased endurance performance
- Each session has a focus on a physical or mindset adaptation
- Attention to detail
- Trains with a broad intensity bandwidth, short quality high intensity sessions, long quality low intensity sessions
- Training includes balance, timing and technique components
- Nutrition is for fuel, recovery and health. Strong nutrient focus. Attention to detail on Carb / Fat for fuel balance.
- Curious and inquisitive about training and recovery strategies
- Races hard, but with control.
Risks
- Can de-prioritise family / social time
- Must ensure other lifestyle outcomes also get focus.
Which one are you? It’s all about getting outcomes within your desired lifestyle! Step one is to design your desired lifestyle and make your sport part of it! Mastering yourself is true power, not knowing what you want, or not seeking knowledge on how to get there are equal weaknesses! Go get it with flexible and adaptable plan!
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